Pay attention

It was in the middle of the morning. I was watching my niece’s baby, Lily. She is just barely 5 months old, very cute and sweet. She reminds me of a little teddy bear, only a bit busier. I had put a short sleeved shirt on her, the house was cool that day. Not sure why. Usually she moves her arms around in a very busy way, and is so happy to be playing. This day she held her hands together, or her arms across her chest, over each other. Sitting still and seeming to be unhappy. I noticed the chill in the air, and realized she might be cold. The dryer had clothes drying and some of her clothes, were in that load. I pulled them out and put on her a warm shirt with warm pants, changed her diaper and she was content. I moved that illustration to a heart issue. If our hearts are cold, we are less receptive to what is around us. We cross our arms around us, rather than reach out. We hold our hands, rather than the hands of others. It was a powerful illustration for me. She could not say to me; I am cold, yet she could tell me in other ways. Her level of comfort was in distress. How does our heart tell us we are in distress? We lose sleep. We grieve. We argue with others, or become impatient. We frustrate easily, over silly things. We become less friendly or nice to be around. When our hearts are in distress, our whole mannerism is off. Our character is off. We become less focused and free. Less enjoyable to be around. I thought this illustration was powerful. God often allows us to ‘feel’ something in order for us to attend to it. We may try to do works, to make us feel better, or we may try duties or chores, to make us feel better. Just as I attended to Lily’s physical needs, I could not take care of her immediate need. Until I realized what it was, she was cold. I found it amazing as soon as I put warm clothes on her, changed her diaper and put her to bed with two blankets, she slept for two hours. She was comfortable and no longer cold. Her distress level was minimized. It was an easy fix. I just had to pay attention to the need. Can we move this closer, as an example for our lives? How do we know when our heart is hurting or in distress? Wouldn’t it be good to pay attention, and realize, when we close off instead of reach out? Can we ask God to nudge us, when we begin to close off our feelings for others? Can we ask Him to show us, when we hold onto ourselves, instead of those around us? Just as Lily held her own hands, we hold our own. Maybe instead we should reach out for the hand of the ‘Saviour’, who brings order into our world. Then allow HIM to show us what is wrong in our heart. So the challenge today is, ‘what are you feeling?’ Is there something you are trying to push away? Wouldn’t it be easier to just ‘pull out of the dryer’ a warm shirt, acknowledge the distress, and start our day over? God wants us to pay attention to the needs of our hearts, and the hearts of those around us. If I had not paid attention to Lily’s body language, she might have been a sad, discomforted baby all day. I pray that as our eyes open, we listen to the needs of our hearts, and ask God to show us the heart needs of others. We might become truly blessed by what we experience, as we listen.